M44 Nagant as a hunting rifle?

Anyone ever tried it? Intersted in hearing the experience of some members.

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Navy_Guns

May 2, 2007, 08:13 AM

One of the best things about owning an M44 is shooting it at dusk during summer months... If there happen to be any flying insects buzzing around you, they all instantly drop dead when you fire. The blast overpressure clears the air in a 5-foot circle around you!

Great if you're ever attacked by zombie gnats. :neener:

JaxNovice

May 2, 2007, 09:06 AM

I love it! What a great visual!

foghornl

May 2, 2007, 09:16 AM

I can't use a modern rifle for deer hunting here in Ohio (Shotgun/slug or handgun or muzzle loader only) so I have no story to tell. There is howerver, quite a bit of soft-point ammo on the market in 7.62x54R.

Since that old Soviet round is on a par with our .30-06 & .308, I suspect that where you would use one of those rounds, the M-44 Mosin-Nagant would also be more than up to the task.

One other thing....the M-44's are frequently sensitive to bayonet position. Might make as much as a 3"-4" Left-to-Right difference @100Yds with bayo extended vs. bayo folded. Also can be ammo sensitive. I don't understand the physics involved, but has something to do with barrel harmonics/whip.

You would probably get some strange looks from folks, going after Bambi with an extended bayo......:evil: :D :evil: :D

Joe Demko

May 2, 2007, 10:09 AM

One of the guys where I work hunts with one, even though he owns far nicer rifles. Go figure.:confused:
Anyway, he's taken deer with it the last two years.

skud_dusty

May 2, 2007, 10:41 AM

I'm planning on using mine this year =-D

Hoppy590

May 2, 2007, 12:04 PM

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/huntingwithmosin/index.asp
they are very good for hog from what i gather.

Essex County

May 2, 2007, 12:07 PM

I have a number of rifles better suited to the task but I'd use my 44 if I had to. I suspect many do woods duty and their owners are served well. Essex

Onmilo

May 2, 2007, 12:10 PM

I read an article in I believe Gun Digest that reported Mosin rifles are quite popular in several ex communist bloc states for use as hunting rifles.

I am guessing they are quite a bit easier to own than an SKS or Saiga hunting rifle.

I know the Russians produce several bolt action hunting rifles and citizens can own them there so I don't see why they might not allow private ownership of a Mosin rifle.

Ballistics are pretty much right on par with .30/06 when the same bullet weight is compared.
The rifle is capable of dropping anything a .30/06 will.

I agree that a short carbine M44 or M38 muzzle blast and flash are something that must be experienced to truely understand just how spectacular it is.

I had a neighbor swear I was using dynamite when I was shooting an M44 down in the gulley right about dusk one evening.
He could see the muzzle flash quite clearly from up top and I guess the blast sounded like a grenade going off to him.
Pretty funny.

Mr White

May 2, 2007, 12:41 PM

It isn't my first shoice for a hunting rifle but I've taken mine out a few times just for fun. Never killed anything with it. I took it when were were putting on drives and the shots were mostly inside of 100 yards.

As far as ammo, The only commercial hunting ammo I've found for it was S&B and Norma. The S&B was ~$10/box, Norma was ~$35/box. I'm sure the Norma would have been more accurate, but enough so to justify over 3 times more per box? Nah. The S&B is 180 gr soft point and with it I can shoot 3" groups at 100 yds from a front supported position. More than accurate enough to kill a deer.

The reason the gun has no deer blood no it is more a result of PA's deer population and my hunting skills than any deficiency of the gun or ammo.

ball3006

May 2, 2007, 02:43 PM

the bayonet makes a dandy rifle holder while you gut out your deer and have a beer afterwards. chris3

ArmedBear

May 2, 2007, 02:53 PM

Kicks like a mule.

Ergonomics of a hamster carcass.

But it'll work.

Take off the bayonet and put on an aftermarket stock with a better buttstock design and a pad instead of a steel plate, and it'll work really well. Nothing wrong with the gun.

WinchesterAA

May 2, 2007, 03:13 PM

Mine's coming with me every day this year, especially since the timber around my favorite stand has been clearcut quite a bit, I now have more of a circular field of oats rather than 2 different lanes surrounded by ridiculously dense brush.

and a big +1 on the bayo being a rifle stand.. Stab it in the ground and forget about it while you field dress a deer, no more "ahh man, that's the sound of my rifle about to slip off the tree I put it up against"

cwmcgu2

May 2, 2007, 03:48 PM

Ask again in the fall... I just mounted a Leupold scout scope and switched to a synthetic stock on my Romanian M44. Lord willin and the creek dont rise, I plan to use it deer hunting this fall.

skud_dusty

May 2, 2007, 04:00 PM

Can anyone link me to a good site for scope mounts?

kir_kenix

May 2, 2007, 04:06 PM

everybody knows that those dirty ruskie rounds won't kill american deer!! seriously tho, i think that balistics clearly show that with the right ammo your 44 should be more than adaquate on deer.

Geno

May 2, 2007, 04:16 PM

My take is that an M44 would be a great hog rifle. A 91/30 would be a great whitetail rifle. I'm looking forward to getting the chance to try them.

Lamb of Gun

May 2, 2007, 05:26 PM

I don't hunt but I would think that a 91/30 would be a better option.

Cosmoline

May 2, 2007, 05:46 PM

Lots of people use Mosins for hunting. I'd suggest using 180 grain Winchester SP's or handloads for best results. The only downside of the M-44 is the noise.

Take off the bayonet and put on an aftermarket stock with a better buttstock design and a pad instead of a steel plate, and it'll work really well. Nothing wrong with the gun.

Which helps what, exactly? A nice M44 like a Pole is perfectly balanced as a brush gun. The stock is designed to withstand multiple world wars. Recoil is no worse than .30'06.

Pepe Ray

May 2, 2007, 06:03 PM

As you grow older, you'll find more down sides. Military surp/issue, is engineered with youngsters in mind. Strong bodies, great vision etc. The wgt. is the most obvious neg. The neg. that can get to some younger folks, is the horrible sights. Poor vision, regardless of age, requires a sighting system where focusing is not a handicap.
Mind you, I'm NOT telling a handy yank that he can't do anything. I've long ago learned the futility of that. But it is very difficult to install good sights on many of the surp rifles. The Russkies are right at the to of that list. Be prepared. Pepe Ray

The Brown Bear stuff can be had for 6 something a box of 20. PRVI goes for between 10 and 12 dollars.

I've had good luck with the Barnaul.

Hoppy590

May 2, 2007, 06:52 PM

cosmo, didnt you know ATI stocks attract the deer and taking off the bayonet attracts the 10 pointers. you see traped between military stocks and the rifles action are tiny magical elves. when you seperate this stock, and place the rifle in a cheap, loose fitting synthetic stock the elves are free to frolic off into the meadow and bring back only the finest deer...

or atleast thats what bubba seems to think

Skofnung

May 2, 2007, 07:19 PM

Ergonomics of a hamster carcass.

:D I'm laughing very hard right now. :D

44AMP

May 2, 2007, 10:29 PM

Only if it was the only rifle I had!

"ergonomics of a hamster carcass" I like that line, but I feel it may be a bit too generous.

My first deer rifle was a Remington Model 600 carbine (18.5"barrel) in .308 Win., so It isn't the stout recoil, or the fierce muzzle blast that bother me. It is simply that it is such a crap piece of machinery to use, compared to virtually everything else available. I have an M38, and it is fun to plink with. But for hunting? not when I have better things available.

If it is the only gun you've got, go ahead and use it until you can get something better. We all have to start somewhere. I admit there is somthing neat about this piece of Combloc hardware, but as a hunting rifle by preference, no.

Cosmoline

May 2, 2007, 10:34 PM

it is such a crap piece of machinery to use, compared to virtually everything else available

Do you have anything substantive to back that up with? I'll stack my Pole M44 against any modern iron sighted hunting rifle. It's light in the hand, aims easy and can launch a 215 grain Woodleigh RN at 2400 fps, delivering solid 2MOA groups. It's also tough enough to literally smash apart most modern rifles costing three times as much. And it has an absolutely safe and very quiet safety. Plus, it has a bayonet for poking downed bears in the eye.

ergonomics of a hamster carcass

This doesn't even make sense.

These foolish old "junkie comblock" arguments are worn out and well exploded. Many, many people have taken Mosins and other "junkie old" C&R rifles hunting. From the Louisiana to Nunavut and from Australia to Italy. Folks use them every season. It amazes me that so many hunters still assume nothing but a shiny new zinc and plastic remchester with a $400 scope stuck on it will kill an animal.

For example, a recent short thread Mosin hunters revealed their use to hunt black bear, bou, griz, hog, deer, and large marine mammals. Note the subsistence hunter "Caribou" from the north end of this state describes finishing off a WHALE with five shots from an M-39! I'd like to hear from anyone who can top that.

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=220415

Mike U.

May 3, 2007, 12:33 AM

For example, a recent short thread Mosin hunters revealed their use to hunt black bear, bou, griz, hog, deer, and large marine mammals. Note the subsistence hunter "Caribou" from the north end of this state describes finishing off a WHALE with five shots from an M-39! I'd like to hear from anyone who can top that.

OMG!! Does it get anymore bad-ass than that?! :eek: :cool: :D

Really, that is an amazing testimony of the possibilities this rifle and cartridge have.

I've never understood why a milsurp rifle is frowned upon and looked down at by some people for hunting purposes. It puts the meat on the table just as easily as that $700.00 remchester with the $500.00 scope. Why should it matter that it doesn't look like a standard hunting rifle? :scrutiny:

In the end, the fact that the hunter brings home the meat is what matters most, isn't it? :uhoh:
Everything else is just vanity.

Husker1911

May 3, 2007, 01:30 AM

At fairly close range, the M44 makes for a dandy rifle. Ensure the rifle shoots where you're aiming, and you'll be enjoying home-harvested venison in no time! Personally, I'd not bother with scope mounts and telescopic sights. At the ranges involved, buy ammunition and shoot enough to become proficient. The cartridge is eminently suitable to American whitetail/mule deer.

The necessity for the bayonet is arguable. One must take its existence into account, at least in the marksmanship category. Good luck to you, sir!

kmrcstintn

May 3, 2007, 02:28 AM

make sure you get some ammo that creates a big bad fireball; if you see your deer just after sunrise or at dusk, the fireball will daze the critter like 'deer in the headlights' and then you can take your time with a second shot :evil:

just kidding...I plan on sighting in w/the ole iron sights at @ 50 yards using Brown Bear 203 gr soft point; I will have the M44 as a backup gun in case my optically sighted rifle takes a hard hit or gets dropped (Winchester M70 chambered for .270) :what:

the M44 will serve as a range blaster, but I have also pondered keeping it in my vehicle as a 'tromp thru the woods' rifle since I paid so little for it (I would maintain it at regular intervals just like everything else that I have)

chris in va

May 3, 2007, 02:36 AM

If you do, I would seriously consider getting aftermarket sights for it. The stock ones on mine are horrible, and my friend's 38 are canted about 10 degrees.

Gustav

May 3, 2007, 02:39 AM

Any Mosin makes a great hunting rifle assuming the rifling is in decent shape and the crown is good.
Only thing bad is the safey is a bit awkward to use especially with gloved hands in the winter.
A simple solution is one of the bolt strikers that has had a D ring welded or attached to the back end kinda like the Swiss K31 uses.

EricTheBarbarian

May 3, 2007, 02:38 PM

ive got a mojo peep sight on my 91/30. makes a world of difference if the v notch sights bother you that much. easy to install by just taping out the pin holding the rear leaf sight in with a small nail. put the new sight in and tap the pin back through. not a permanent alteration if you are worried about that too. heres a link www.mojosights.com

66912

May 3, 2007, 09:05 PM

I have taken two Montana whitetail with an M38 (Iron sights), as well as one more with My No.5 in .303. It is a great bush rifle as is. Put a scope on it if your eyes do not work well with the Irons. Otherwise, leave the hamster in its original state.

SlamFire1

May 3, 2007, 09:18 PM

Shot a spike buck with a M27 Finnish. First shot was below the heart, deer hunched up and took off. I got the second round right up under the tail. Distance under 25 yards. I worked the bolt so fast my bud thought someone was in there with a semiauto.

Crazy thing was, after shooting second shot, looked down for my empties and there were cartridges on the ground. And the floor plate. The floor plate is hard to latch and what must have happened was the floor plate was not fully latched. First round probably knocked floor plate off. But in a Nagant, the next round is held up by a flat spring. So, I got the second shot off.

I did not care for the performance of the Norma factory bullets. The lead core shed the jacket.

wnycollector

May 5, 2007, 09:25 AM

I plan on using my M38 this fall on white tails!

Dave Markowitz

May 5, 2007, 09:40 AM

The M-N worked well in a couple of world wars and various other wars, there's no reason it won't work just as well in the woods for hunting. Personally, I find the safety to be the biggest problem, since it's stiff. However, one of these days I want to try this mod on a Mosin (probably get a spare cocking piece to do it on):

http://www.gswagner.com/mosin-nagant/safe/safe.html

salty

May 5, 2007, 12:00 PM

I would use a M38 or 91-30 as the balance of M44 is not handy - to put it politely. More than enough gun.

Kilgor

May 5, 2007, 04:28 PM

http://www.surplusrifle.com/carbinenagant/oddsandends3/index.asp

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